Tokyo District Court, Heisei 15 (Wa) 19926 [Coagulant Composition for Tofu] <Damages> Article 102(1)
Updated: 1 hour ago
Article information
Type: Case note
Classification: Patents
Topics: Damages
First published on this site: 2023-12-14
Case number: Heisei 15 (Wa) 19926
Display and classification checked: 2026-11-14
Tokyo District Court, Heisei 15 (Wa) 19926 [Coagulant Composition for Tofu] <Damages> Article 102(1)
JPY 152.29 million awarded
<Circumstances rebutting the presumption> Proviso to Article 102(1): none
⇒ In light of the rapidly expanding demand for emulsified nigari products for tofu, etc., it cannot be said that the plaintiff's product and the defendant's respective products lack a complementary relationship.
(Extract from the court's reasoning)
The defendants argue, as circumstances under the proviso to Article 102(1) of the Patent Act, that (1) demand for their respective products arose from the products' own characteristics and the defendants' sales efforts, and (2) defendant Kawa Shoji supplies the respective products only through the sales channels of Hoshitaka Co., Ltd., to which the plaintiff ceased supplying. They therefore argue that the plaintiff's product and their products have no mutually complementary relationship.
However, even all the evidence in this case does not establish the circumstances concerning transactions between Hoshitaka Co., Ltd. and the plaintiff. In light of the fact that, since April, Heisei 10, demand for emulsified nigari products for tofu has rapidly expanded among major mass-production tofu manufacturers (Ko 8-1 and 8-2), etc., it cannot be said that the plaintiff's product and the defendants' respective products lack a complementary relationship. Nor is there other sufficient evidence of facts supporting the defendants' assertions, which therefore cannot be accepted.
Originally published: 2023-12-14
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The first publication date and update dates are recorded separately. Display maintenance does not mean that the legal analysis was re-verified.
2026-11-14: Display and classification maintenance (article information, issue tags, language/SEO links, related articles, and consultation path added).
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